The session will support participants to engage critically with current evidence and reflect on the implications of this debate for clinical practice and service provision. The debate includes Sami Timimi, Professor Kapil Sayal, Professor Rachel Hiller, Professor Anita Thapar. Chair Professor Bernadka Dubicka.
Learning objectives
By the end of this session, participants will be able to:
- Outline key points of discussion in current debates about over-pathologisation in child and adolescent mental health.
- Compare different ways of interpreting evidence related to diagnostic trends in young people.
- Consider how these debates relate to everyday clinical thinking and decision-making.
Booking
Sign up at this link or on the Book Now button at the top of the screen, and complete the form that follows. You’ll then receive an email confirmation and a link to the webinar, plus we’ll send you a calendar reminder nearer the time. Delegates will have exclusive access to recordings for 90 days after the event, together with slides. Plus you will get a personalised CPD/CME certificate via email.
ACAMH Members MUST login to book onto the webinar in order to access this webinar and get a CPD/CME certificate
Non-members this is a great time to join ACAMH, take a look at what we have to offer, and make the saving on these sessions
EARLY BIRD £10 (until 20/02/26, then £15)
£5 ACAMH Undergraduate/Postgraduate Members
CAMH Debate Papers
Open Access Debate: Are we overpathologising young people’s mental health? Research shows otherwise – mental health conditions are not being recognised or diagnosed in healthcare settings, July 2025, Kapil Sayal, Rachel Hiller
Debate: Are we over-pathologising young people’s mental health? The case of trauma and PTSD diagnosis, July 2025, Elias Aboujaoude, Ayoub Bouguettaya
Debate: Are we over-pathologising young people’s mental health? You’d be in denial if you think we aren’t, July 2025, Sami Timimi
Debate: Are we over-pathologizing young people’s mental health? The inflationary risk of autism diagnosis, July 2025, Michele Poletti, Antonio Preti, Andrea Raballo
Open Access Debate: Are we over-pathologising young people’s mental health? The role of participatory research in moving beyond pathology, July 2025, Morten Skovdal
Infographic
About the speakers
Sami Timimi is a Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist and experienced psychotherapist having trained in a variety of approaches. He has been a Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists since 2012. He has many innovation awards and led multiple service developments including being the consultant for the child and adolescent team of the year at the 2023 annual Royal College of Psychiatrists awards. He regularly presents as keynote speaker at national and international conferences and has many interviews with press, media and podcasts. He has published over a hundred and fifty articles and tens of chapters on many subjects including childhood, psychotherapy, behavioural problems, and cross-cultural psychiatry. He’s authored seven books, co-edited four, and co-authored two others. His latest book, published in March 2025 is ‘Searching for Normal: A New Approach to Understanding Distress and Neurodiversity’.
Professor Kapil Sayal is Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Honorary Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist at the University of Nottingham. He is an Associate Editor of CAMH, responsible for the Technology Matters section
After completing undergraduate degrees in Psychology and Medicine, Kapil undertook a combined clinical and academic training in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the Institute of Psychiatry and the Bethlem & Maudsley / SLAM NHS Trusts. He was awarded a Health Services Research Training Fellowship investigating pathways to care for children at risk of ADHD and was subsequently appointed as a Clinical Lecturer. He completed his PhD during this period and received three awards marking a significant achievement in research for work based on his PhD, including the Royal College of Psychiatrists Research Prize. Kapil was appointed as Senior Lecturer in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry in 2005 and promoted to Reader in 2012 and Professor of child and adolescent Psychiatry in 2014.
Kapil’s research interests reflect developmental epidemiology, clinical and school-based trials, child and adolescent mental health in schools and primary care, ADHD and self-harm. His programme of Health Services Research includes intervention research that aims to improve the identification of and outcomes for children and young people with mental health problems in school, primary care and specialist settings.
Information sourced from The University of Nottingham
Take a look at the Mind the Kids podcast – The Human Side of Data: Lessons from the STADIA Study with Professor Kapil Sayal exploring the landmark STADIA trial, which was published in ACAMH’s Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry (JCPP).
Professor Rachel Hiller is Professor in Child & Adolescent Mental Health at UCL and Co-Director of the UK Trauma Council. She leads the Child Trauma & Recovery research group, whose work is focused on improving the mental health and wellbeing of children and teens who have experienced complex trauma, with a particular focus on care-experienced young people. Much of her research is co-developed with care-experienced young people, and includes longitudinal research on psychological and social drivers of mental health, through to the implementation of best-evidenced trauma-focused mental health support.
Professor Anita Thapar is a clinical academic child and adolescent psychiatrist. Her research focuses on ADHD and youth mental health and is lead editor of Rutter’s Textbook of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Anita was awarded a CBE for services to Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, President’s Medal from the Royal College of Psychiatrists for contributions to policy, public knowledge, education, meeting population and patient care needs, Ruane Prize for outstanding Child & Adolescent Psychiatric research and World ADHD Federation medal for her contributions to ADHD. She was co-chair for the Welsh Government Ministerial Advisory Group: neurodivergence and Chair of the NHS-England ADHD Taskforce.
Booking
Sign up at this link or on the Book Now button at the top of the screen, and complete the form that follows. You’ll then receive an email confirmation and a link to the webinar, plus we’ll send you a calendar reminder nearer the time. Delegates will have exclusive access to recordings for 90 days after the event, together with slides. Plus you will get a personalised CPD/CME certificate via email.
ACAMH Members MUST login to book onto the webinar in order to access this webinar and get a CPD/CME certificate
Non-members this is a great time to join ACAMH, take a look at what we have to offer, and make the saving on these sessions
EARLY BIRD £10 (until 20/02/26, then £15)
£5 ACAMH Undergraduate/Postgraduate Members